Bordeaux v Northampton: Five takeaways as ‘platform to run riot’ leaves ‘sheer nuisance’ Henry Pollock fighting ‘lone battle’
Northampton's Henry Pollock battles with Damian Penaud while, inset, Bordeaux's Salesi Rayasi dives to score (Pictures by INPHO/Laszlo Geczo)
Following Bordeaux Begles’ 50-28 win over Northampton Saints in round three of the Investec Champions Cup, here are our five key takeaways.
The top line
Union Bordeaux-Begles demolished Northampton in a Champions Cup Pool Four clash that was over before Saints could draw breath in the second half, as hat-tricks from Salesi Rayasi and Cameron Woki the headline acts in a match won emphatically through set-piece dominance that gave UBB the platform to run riot.
Rayasi opened the scoring after six minutes, running a perfect line off Matthieu Jalibert to expose Saints’ rush defence, added a second on 20 minutes before completing his hat-trick a minute into the second half as Northampton’s defensive system collapsed under relentless forward pressure.
Henry Pollock responded with a brilliant individual try on nine minutes, his chip and chase top drawer work, but that proved merely a brief interruption to Bordeaux’s dominance.
Martin Page-Relo scored from a driving maul before Woki crashed over for the first of his three, the second-row turned flanker adding two more in the opening five minutes of the second half to kill the contest stone dead.
Tommy Freeman grabbed a consolation on 47 minutes but Jalibert sealed matters on the hour with a try that capped a performance that simply screamed at Fabien Galthie that France pick him for the Six Nations, because ignoring form and ability of this level borders on negligence.
From the ashes of his bleak afternoon came redemption for Saints right at the end, and in particular, Danilo Fischetti, the loosehead sin-binned for repeated scrum infringements in the first half crossing right at the death to grab the bonus point that might prove crucial come pool calculations, a small mercy in a comprehensive defeat.
The scoreline told you everything but under the hood of the performance, Saints’ 36 missed tackles for a 64% completion rate was frankly appalling at this level, symptomatic of a team constantly scrambling backwards from scrum and lineout against opponents who had them beaten up front from the first whistle, something that happens rarely at a club of Northampton’s calibre.
Set-piece precision
Everyone anticipated ball-in-hand fireworks in the build-up to this game. Visions of Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey carving up touchlines, tries racking up like in last year’s final in Cardiff, abounded, but Bordeaux won this in the trenches where Northampton were systematically dismantled.
Four scrum penalties before half-time left Fischetti getting a yellow as Carlü Sadie destroyed him, and Maxime Lamothe anchored everything with that rare combination of technical precision and physical dominance that separates good hookers from great ones.
Lamothe was immense beyond the scrum too, hitting rucks, making tackles in the wide channels, carrying into contact when Bordeaux needed momentum, the sort of complete performance that doesn’t make highlight reels but wins tight European matches when the margins are razor thin.
You wondered if Jefferson Poirot had last May’s yellow card in Cardiff from his contretemps with Pollock sellotaped to his chest as he ran onto the pitch just for motivation. He did as his scrummaging gave UBB control.
The lineout was carnage, Woki, Cyril Cazeaux and Adam Coleman reading Saints’ calls like Saints had left the playbook in the stadium toilet. There were four first-half steals, including one on UBB’s own line when Northampton thought they had them. Woki plucked it clean, snuffing out the danger before it developed in a brilliant piece of counter jumping.
It might not have had the tension of the 2025 final, with Saints failing in the basics of set-piece and defence, but Bordeaux once again showed that European matches are won up-front, where the unglamorous work gets done.
Woki and Rayasi star
Fourteen unanswered points in the opening five minutes of the second half killed this match off and put UBB into safe waters, Woki and Rayasi both crossing in that spell to extinguish any hope Saints harboured after just about clinging on through a brutal first 40 where they had been battered up front but somehow remained within striking distance.
To add insult to injury, Woki added another five minutes later to complete his hat-trick and seal a memorable win.
The statistics revealed how comprehensively Bordeaux dominated once they found their rhythm. Rayasi’s 14 carries accumulated 138 metres, the Fijian full-back running lines off Jalibert’s vision that repeatedly isolated Saints defenders one-on-one before beating them with pace and footwork.
Woki’s five carries netted 66 metres, those metres coming in critical moments when Bordeaux needed field position, his power and athleticism creating momentum Saints couldn’t match.
Both profited from Jalibert’s ability to identify space and put runners into it with precision timing, but more than anything they profited from the immense stranglehold UBB’s forwards exerted all afternoon, the platform Lamothe, Poirot and Sadie built up front giving Jalibert time to operate and have Saints’ defence constantly scrambling backwards under relentless forward pressure.
Two of the tries came from Saints’ spills under pressure, a mark of how well the UBB eight went, and the two flyers needed no second invitation once they secured the loose ball.
Woki looks reborn at Bordeaux after poor form at Racing 92 saw him dropped from France contention. His performances in recent weeks have put him firmly back on track for international selection that seemed lost just months ago, adding yet another layer of world-class, proven Test expertise to the French forward stocks.
Peroxide and provocation
The only part of Northampton’s game that reached its usual heights was the sheer nuisance factor of Pollock, the peroxided number eight leaving a big and emphatically negative impression on the UBB faithful who booed him every time he touched the ball.
Pollock was brilliant. His chip and chase around the Bordeaux defence to set up his own try was top drawer work that showcased exactly why he is rated so highly, the sort of individual class that can unlock defences even when your pack is getting demolished behind you.
He finished with 12 carries, three defenders beaten, two clean breaks and 56 metres gained, numbers that tell you he was fighting a lone battle in a losing war but fighting it with a smile that hide his resilience and resolve.
UBB got into him constantly and their sledging was relentless. Even Bielle-Biarrey got involved, which told you everything about how wound up Bordeaux were by his presence given the French wing is possibly the most mild-mannered man in professional rugby. The sight of him chirping away at Pollock between phases genuinely surprised anyone who knows the Frenchman’s temperament.
Pollock never stopped, though, carrying into contact when everyone else in gold seemed to have given up, making nuisance tackles, getting under Bordeaux’s skin at every opportunity. He proved again that sometimes being hated by opposition fans and players is a compliment rather than criticism, especially when you are 20 years old and backing it up with performances like this, even when your team is getting battered.
Maybe one day he will learn that winding up entire stadiums isn’t always the cleverest tactical approach, rather like pouring petrol on a fire and wondering why you are getting burned, but right now that edge seems part of what makes him effective even if it occasionally makes life harder than it needs to be. But typical of UBB’s Public Enemy No.1, he had the last laugh as he managed to round Penaud right at the death for his second try.
Pool Four: The implications
Bordeaux move to 15 points with maximum haul, sitting pretty at the pool summit with one match remaining. Their home round of 16 fixture is now virtually guaranteed, barring a catastrophic collapse against Bristol next weekend, which seems about as likely as Dupont joining Saracens as a utility forward.
Northampton salvaged a losing bonus point thanks to Fischetti’s late try. They sit on 11 points and have qualified, but they need to beat Scarlets to boost their chances of a home game in the round of 16.